Motor vehicle



G. E. GRIMM MOTOR VEHICLE Jan. 24, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 18, 1945 INVENTOR.

Jan. 24, 1950 G. E. GRIMM 2,495,520

MOTOR VEHICLE Filed Dec. 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

En. E. GRMM MOTOR VEHL'CLE 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Deo. l8, 1945 m. M n w.

@60149656 m'mmf, BY 16mm),

Jam., 24;, 3.95@ 5. E. GRIMM v ZAgZ@ MOTOR VEHICLE Filed DeO. 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 1N V EN TOR.

Jan. 24, 1950 G. E. GRIMM 2,495,520

MOTOR VEHICLE Filed DeG. 18, 1945 5 Shee-ts-Sheet 5 HWI Patented Jan. 24, 1950 Moron VEHICLE George E. Grimm, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich., a vcorporation of Michigan Application December 18, 1945, Serial No. 635,743

9 claims. l

The invention relates generally to motor vehicles and mor'e particularly to a motor vehicle adapted for taxicab use.

The general object of the invention is to provide a motor vehicle of the foregoing character, having a novel seating arrangement for passengers, including both rear and front seats, all of which are accessible through doors at both sides of the vehicle.

More specifically, it is an object to provide a motor vehicle of the foregoing character, having a novel seating arrangement including a drivers seat partitioned off from the passenger seating portion of the vehicle, and both front and rear seats for passengers, all of which are accessible through doors at both sides of the vehicle so that passengers for any of the seats may enter and leave the vehicle at either side.

Another object is to provide a motor vehicle I of the foregoing character having a novel seating arrangement including a swingable forwardly facingv front seat for passengers, which permits access thereto from the rear seat area, the swingable seat being adapted to be locked in its forward or normal position, with the lock releasable 'Y either from the passenger-seating area or from the drivers seat.

A further object is to provide a motor vehicle A number of cities have made changes in their vehicle laws with regard to taxicabs which make Q it necessary to alter the construction of the cabs considerably from what has heretofore been considered as the conventional arrangement. One of these changes in the municipal laws is that there of the foregoing character, having a novel seat-v ing arrangement including a drivers seat at one side, partitioned off from both rear and front passenger seats, with a portion of the partition releasable to permit the driver to leave the vehicle on the side opposite his seat in case of necessity.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of a motor vehicle embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the interior of the vehicle as viewed through the left rear door and showing the front seat in its operative position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the front seat in the rearwardly swung position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the interior of the vehicle as seen from the right front door and showing the front seat swung rearwardly.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the interior of the front seat area when seen through the right front door and showing the front seat in its forward or operative position.

must be a partition between the driver andthe passengers. Another is that all of the passengers rin the vehicle must be able to enter and leave the vehicle at either side. 1 -v As to the first-mentioned change relating to the partitioning of the drivers seat, such partition may, of course, in part be of a permanent nature. However, if the drivers seat, which occupies only one side of the front portion of the interior of the vehicle, is completely surrounded on its inner side by permanent partitions, difficulties would arise incase of an accident, if the door on the drivers side became wedged and unopenable. It follows that,'while the drivers seat should be completely partitioned olf from the rest of the interior of the vehicle in normal operation, such partition should include a removable or swingable section permitting the driver, when occasion demands, to gain access directly from his seat to the other portion of the interior of the vehicle so that, should the door on his side of the car become jammed, he may leave the car from the opposite side.

Since the driver does not need the entire space across the front of the car, that is, from one front door to the other, the space from the inner side of the drivers seat to the opposite front door may be utilized as passenger-carrying space. However, with the drivers seat partitioned off from the rest of the front area, access to such front area could be obtained only through one front door, unless provision were made for access from such front area into the area of the rear seat. The latter area, of course, is accessible at both sides of the car through the rear doors on both sides. To provide permanent passage space from the passenger-carrying area in the front to the rear seat area decreases the seating capacity of such front area.

With the foregoing in view, my present invention involves a rseating arrangement which meets the requirements of the above-mentioned changes in municipal laws and provides for seating of a maximum number of passengers in the areas available. To this end, I provide a drivers seat in the front portion of the interior of the car and adjacent one of the side doors. The drivers seat is provided with a partition which includes a permanent portion at" the rear of the drivers seat and a releasable or swingable portion at the inner side of the drivers seat, which swingable portion may be opened in cases of necessity to permit the driver to have access to the opposite side of the front area. The rear seat is conventional in form and is spaced rearwardly from the drivers seat and extends from one rear door to the other so that access thereto may be had from either of the rear doors.

A forwardly facing front seat is also provided for passengers, which extends from the inner side of the drivers seat to the opposite front door, when the seat is positioned to receive passengers. This front seat, however, is shiftable rearwardly, preferably by being pivoted at its outer end, so that passengers may pass between the front seat area and the rear seat area. Thus,

a front seat passenger may have access thereto either through the front door on the side on which said front seat is located or by passing into Vthe rear seat area and thence through the rear door on the opposite side of the vehicle. The front seat is preferably constructed with a folding seat portion adapted to be raised to a vertical position compactly against the back of the seat to increase the passageway between the front yand rear areas. When the front seat is in its passenger-receiving position, it is preferably supported not only by its pivot, which in this case is adjacent the side doors, but at its inner end by means of a bracket provided on the structure of the drivers seat. When in such position and so supported, it is adapted to be held by a latch which may be Yreleased either by a handle located on the passenger side of the drivers seat or by a handle available to the driver inside of the partitions enclosing his seat.

In the specific embodiment disclosed in the drawing, I show a fully enclosed body having the usual top l0, windshield and rear window l2. At both sides of the body are front doors I3 and rear doors 4 separated by pillars I5 extending from the floor to lthe top l0. The particular arrangement herein disclosed is for a left-hand drive, `but the Vvarious parts hereinafter Ydescribed may, of course, be reversed from the arrangement shown if the vehicle is to be of -the righthand drive type.

Mounted in the front portion of the interior of the vehicle and adjacent one of the front doors I3 is a drivers seat comprising a back structure I6 and a seat cushion Il. The drivers seat is preferably provided at its inner side with an arm structure 20 extending forwardly from the back I6. AIn order to separate the drivers seat from the rest of the interior of the vehicle, a partition 2| is provided at the rear of the drivers seat. The partition 2| extends upwardly from the back structure I6 and is provided' throughout the major portion of its area with al window 22. It preferably also is provided with a pair of small panels 23 adapted to receive and display the drivers license and vother data. A heater is preferably mounted under the drivers seat and arranged to discharge warm air-into the rear seat area through a grille 24.

To complete the partitioning of the drivers seat from the rest of the interior of the vehicle, a, partition 25 is provided along the arm structure 20 and extending upwardly therefrom.

`Since there are occasions when it is desirable to permit the driver to gainA access directly from his seat into the passenger-carrying space, the partition 25 is preferably mounted for swinging movement. YTo this end, the partition 25 is pivporting means.

otally supported by the permanent rear partition 2| so that the partition 25 may be swung from a closed position where it extends upwardly from the arm structure 28- to a sidewardly extending position over the adjacent front seat, as shown in Fig. 5. When the partition 25 is in its normal position above the arm structure 20, it is adapted to be held in 'place Vby a locking means at its front lower corner, securing such corner to the arm structure 20. To release the locking means, a handle 26 may be provided, which handle is readily accessible to the driver when in his seat. A similar locking means (not shown) may also be provided to secure the upper front corner of partition 25 to the top l0. The partition 25 is preferably made of a plastic material and Amay be provided with a swinging section 2l to permit the driver to receive fares from a passenger when in the vehicle.

The main passenger-carrying space is provided Aby a rear seat 30 extending crosswise of the vehicle and, of course, spaced rearwardly from the drivers seat to provide leg room. The -rear doors I4 are preferably quite wide and, when open, expose the rear seat 3|] so that a passenger may enter or leave such seat with ease.

Additional passenger-seating space is provided in a vehicle embodying the present invention by a front seat, indicated generally `at 3 I. The front seat 3l, when in its normal or passenger-carrying position, is adapted to extend from the inner side of the drivers seat to the opposite side of the vehicle adjacent the front door on said opposite side. Thus, access may be had to the front seat 3| through the 'adjacent front door. However, one of the requirements of the new municipal laws heretofore mentioned'is that such a front seat must be 'accessible from both sides of the car. Since the drivers seat is partitioned olf from the rear of the interior of the car, the front seat 3| and its adjacent area is made accessible from the rear seat area. As mentioned above, a permanent passageway from such front area to the rear area would decrease the seating capacity of the front seat. For that reason, the

front seat 3| is provided with a shiftable construction so that it may be moved sufliciently to permit passage from the front area to the rear area. In the preferred form of construction, lthe front seat is pivotally supported adjacent its outer end so that its inner end may be swung rearwardly, as indicated by the dotted-line position in Fig. 1, to provide a passageway around the inner end of the front seat between the two areas. In the preferred form of construction, the front seat comprises a supporting structure 32 which constitutes the back of the seat. At its outer end the supporting structure 32 is pivotally supported, as indicated at'33, on the adjacent pillar I5 between the front and rear doors.

The inner end of the supporting structure is adapted to be carried, when in passenger-receiving position, by means provided on the arm structure 20. The supporting structure 32 in the embodiment illustrated includes a down'- wardly extending leg 34 at its inner end, which leg v'is adapted to vrest on a bracket 35 secured to the arm structure 20 and constituting the supvThe legf34, in order to prevent its being dislodged from its normal position when carrying passengers, -is adaptedV to be secured to the bracket by a latch 36 in the form -of a hook engageable about the lower end of the leg 34. The latch 3B isl preferably spring operated so out-of-the-way position when the seat is swung,

rearwardly, so as to increase the size of the passage between the front and rear areas. To this end, the seat portion 40 is pivotally supportedby the structure 32 on an axis, indicated at 4|, ex-

- tending along the rear edge ofl the seat portion.

The supporting structure 32 of the front seat also includes a bar 42 (see Fig. 4) parallel to and spaced forwardly from the pivotal axis of the seat portion, which bar Will support the seat portion 40 when the latter is lowered. The seat portion 4D is also supported by a forward extension 43 on the bracket 35 Vwhen the seat portion 40 is lowered and the front seat is moved to its normal or forward position.

From'the foregoing, it will be app-arent that with the front seat swung rearwardly and its seat portion 40 raised, ample space is provided between the inner end of the front seat and the drivers seat to permit passage therethrough from the rear seat area to the front seat area. Such passage space is increased by rounding the inner rear corner of the drivers seat, as indicated at 44 in Fig. l. The rear face of the drivers seat is forwardly and downwardly slanted so that the bracket 35 and its #latch 3B do not materially project into such passage space t form any obstruction therein.

The latch 35 is releasable either from the passenger-carrying space or from the drivers seat. To this end, the latch 36 is carried on a shaft 45 (see Fig. 4) which extends upwardly within the arm structure 20 of the drivers seat. Preferably, the shaft 45 is carried in a panel structure 46 embedded in the arm structure 20. Adjacent the upper end of the panel 46 a handle 50 is secured to the shaft 45, which handle may be grasped by any of the p-assengers to release the latch 36. The latch 36 may also be released through operation of the shaft 45 by means of a handle 5| on the drivers seat side of the partition 25. Preferably, the handle 5| is mounted on the upper end of the shaft 45 at thetop surface of the arm structure 20.

The construction disclosed herein provides a drivers seat which is separated from the rest of the interior oi the car by partitions which normally enclose the drivers seat. The side partition 25, however, may be swung away from the arm structure 2D in case it is necessary for the driver to pass directly from his seat into the ad'- jacent front seat area. The front seat 3| is of sufficient size` to carry two passengers so that a maximum carrying capacity for the vehicle is thereby provided with all passengers facing forwardly. The front seat passengers may gain access to the seat either from the right front door I3 or from the left rear door I4. Thus, the present construction is such as to meet the requirements of the municipal laws relative t0 the foregoing features. The front seat, when in its forward position, is adequately supported at both ends, and the latch 36 retains the inner end in its forward, supported position.

I claim:

l. A motor vehicle for taxicab use comprising a closed body having front and rear doors at both sides, a drivers seat adjacent the front door at one side of the body and having an arm structure along its inner side, a rear seat spaced rearwardly from said drivers seat and extending adjacent both rear doors, and a front seat pivotally supported at its outer end adjacent the Vfront door at the opposite side with its inner end swingable rearwardly to permit access from the front seat to the space between the rear seat and the drivers seat, a bracket mounted on said arm structure to .support the inner end of said front seat when swung forwardly, a latch on said bracket for holding the inner end of the front seat in supportedA position, and means extending upwardly in said arm structure and provided with handle means at its upper end for releasing said latch.

2. A motor vehicle for taxicab use comprising a closed body having front and rear doors at both sides, a drivers seat adjacent the front door at one side of the body and partitioned at its rear and inner sides from the rest of the interior of the body, a rear seat spaced rearwardly from said drivers seat and extending adjacent both rear doors, and a front seat pivotally supported at its outer end adjacent the front door at the opposite side With its inner end swingable rearwardly to permit access from the front seat to the space between the rear seat and the drivers 'Y seat, means at the inner side of the drivers seat for supporting the inner end of the front seat when swung forwardly and including a latch for holding the front seat in its forward position,

' spaced rearwardly from said drivers seat and extending adjacent both rear doors, a front seat pivotally supported at its outer end adjacent the front door at the opposite side with its inner end swingable rearward-ly to permit access from the front seat to the Vspace between the rear seat and the drivers seat, a bracket mounted on said arm structure to support the inner end of said front seat when swung forwardly, a latch on said bracket for holding the inner end of the front seat in supported position, and latch operating means extending upwardly in said arm structure and provided with a pair of handles, one handle being located on the drivers seat side of said partition and the other handle being located on the side of said arm structure adjacent said front seat.

4. A motor vehicle for taxicab use comprising a closed body having front and rear doors at both sides, a drivers seat adjacent the front door at one side of the body, a rear seat spaced rear- Wardly from said drivers seat and extending adjacent both rear doors, and a front seat pivotally supported at its outer end adjacent the front door at the opposite side with its inner end swingable rearwardly, said front seat comprising a back and a folding seat portion adapted to be raised from a seating position to a vertical position adjacent the back, the inner side edge of said folding seat portion when in lowered position extending along the adjacent side of said drivers seat but when raised extending vertically adjacent the rear part of the driver's seat whereby the 'r'ont'fseat may then bel'swung rearwardly.

5. A motor vehicle vfor .taxicabv use comprising a closed body having front and rear doors at -both sides, a drivers seat adjacent the front door Aa Aseating 'portion adaptedk to be folded from a lowered or horizontal position to a raised or vertical position adjacent said back, `and means at Vthe inner Side of the drivers seat having two portions respectively for. detachably supporting "the inner end of the front seat when swung forwardly and for 'supporting said seat portionwhen 1in its lowered position.

6. A motorvehicle for taxicab use comprising .a closed body having front and rear doors at both sides, a drivers seat adjacent the Vfront door at one 'side of the body, a 'front seat comprising supporting structure pivotally supported at its outer endadjacent the front door at the opposite side withits inner end swingabllerearwardly, and a seat portion carried by said supporting structure and adapted to be folded from a lowered or horizontal positionv to a raised or vertical position, a bracket mounted on the in. .ner side of the drivers seat for'supporting the inner end of saidsupporting structure independently of the seating portion and having a portion extending forwardly to receive said seat portion A,when the latter is in its lowered position, and

manually operable latchmeans for holding said supporting structure when -swung forwardly,

7. A motor vehicle for taxicab use comprising a closed body having iront and-*rear doors Aat both sides, a drivers seat adjacent-the front door at one side of -the body, a rear seat spaced rearwardly fromsaid drivers Seat and extending adjacent both rear doors, a front seat comprising a supporting structure pivotally supported at .its outer end adjacent the front door at the opposite side with its inner end swingable rearwardly, and aseat portion-said supporting structure pivotally supporting said seat portion on an .axis extending adjacent the rear edge of the latter and provided with a bar parallel tobut spaced forwardly from said pivotal axis and adapted to support said seat portion when the latter is in .its lowered position, a bracket mounted on the inner side of said drivers seatand adapted to support the inner end of saidbar when'said front seat is swung forwardly'and to Support said seat portion when 'the latter 'is in its lowered iposition, and' manuallyvreleasable latch means engageable with the inner end of said bar.

8. A motor yvehicle for taxicab use comprising `a closed'bodyhaving front and rear doors at both fsides, a Ydrivers seat adjacent the front door at one side `of the body and having an arm structure along its inner side, a rear seat spaced rearfwardly from said drivers seat and extending adjacent both rear doors, a front seat normally Aextending from the drivers seat to the front door -at .the opposite side and being shiftable .rearwardly to permit access from said front seat `to the space between the rear seat and the driv- `l'ers seat, a permanent partition extending upwardly from the rear of `said drivers seat, and a .swingable partition extending upwardly from `said arm lstructure to permit access from the drivers seat tosaid front'seat.

9. A motor Vehicle for taxicab use comprising a closed body having front and rear doors at both sides, ra drivers seat adjacent the front -door at one side of the body and having an arm structure along its inner side, a rear seat spaced rearwardly fromsaid drivers seat and extending adjacent -rboth rear doors, a front seat normally extending from said arm structure to the front v.door at the opposite side and shiftable rearwardly to vpermit access from .the front seat to .the space between the rear seat and the drivers `fseat, a vpermanent partition extending upwardly vfrom the rear of said drivers seat, a swingable partition extending upwardly from said arm structure and pivotally supported by said perma- .nent partition, latch means at the front of said `farm structure for releasably securing said swing- .Jable Ypartition thereto, and manually operable vmeans on the drivers seat side of said swingabile partition `forreleasing said latch means.

GEORGE E. GRIMM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS lNumber Name Date 935,633 Barber Oct. 5, 1909 1,156,834 Borland Oct. 12, 1915 .1,514,124 Bauer Nov. 4, y1924i .1,611,248 vSmith et al. Dec. 21, 1926 .1,923,466 West Aug. 22, 1933 2,063,388 vLarsen Dec. 8, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 221,390 Great Britain Sept. 11, 1924 

